G29 New Jersey Devils vs. Seattle Kraken: Getting Grubauer
A tired Kraken team will have one of the league's worst goaltenders behind them. Can the Devils take advantage?
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Here are a few notes to get you set for New Jersey vs. Seattle:
Devils have a big edge in goal
Goaltending was the first thing that stood out to me when digging into this matchup.
The Kraken started Joey Daccord against the Islanders on Thursday night, which almost certainly means Philipp Grubauer gets the nod vs. New Jersey. To say there’s a big gap between the two would be an understatement.
Daccord is sporting a 12-6-1 record and .913 save percentage through 19 starts. He has saved +7.2 goals above expectation, the 7th-best mark in the NHL. He has been terrific and a driving force behind Seattle’s success.
Grubauer has been a complete and unmitigated disaster. He owns a putrid .862 save percentage and won only one of eight games this season.
Of the 57 netminders who’ve made at least eight appearances, Grubauer ranks bottom-5 in GSAx per start.
While Jacob Markstrom has put forth a few underwhelming performances this season, he has generally been pretty good. The level of play we’ve seen from Markstrom compared to Grubauer is night and day.
The Devils have a big edge in goal here and the Kraken are the fatigued side. So long as Markstrom holds his own, getting at least a point in this game shouldn't be a problem.
The power play matchup is great
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